Chemical Reaction Trajectories Using Bézier Curves

This Demonstration shows an example of a simple chemical reaction, which might include a proton transfer or an acid-base reaction. Specifically, we consider the reaction between ammonia () and hydrogen sulfide () to produce an ammonium ion () and bisulfide ion ().

Bézier curves are used to trace possible trajectories of the two reacting molecules in order to simulate collisions with other molecules. This results in smooth trajectories with minimal overall rotation when viewed from the laboratory frame.